Rear Spring Rates and Air Suspension

[22522]

Some of the Model 3RCs look to have maybe too stiff a spring in the rear suspension for being driven by one person. The car moves when a bump is crossed and does not damp out as fast as I would expect.

I wonder if this is to make it work great when there are 5 people on board.

I know nothing about air suspension (except on mountain bikes)... it is great for tuning the suspension for different weights, but you have to have negative air and positive air for small bump compliance...

Do cars with air suspension ride better?
Has anyone else noticed any untoward motion in the RC videos?

A 2013 Accord had a terrible problem with this: 2013 Honda Accord Review | Best Car Site for Women | VroomGirls

It would hurt Tesla if the hype machine ran over the importance of ride quality.

If any RC candidate is near Legacy northbound, north of 121 (I think that is Frisco) just west of the IKEA store, please drive that section at 35 mph to see how it does. Honda Fit aced it. 2013 Honda Accord failed miserably.

It matters to Tesla.

 

[garsh]

Some of the Model 3RCs look to have maybe too stiff a spring in the rear suspension for being driven by one person. The car moves when a bump is crossed and does not damp out as fast as I would expect.

Can you provide links to the videos that you believe exhibit this behavior?

I don't recall seeing any where I thought this. I do remember one video of a 3 where a Model X in the background appeared to have a suspension setup that was too stiff.

 

[cab]

I'm actually a little disappointed in the lack of an air suspension option for the Model 3. Most of this stems from what I perceive to be less than desirable ride quality on the Model S with coils. These guys just don't have years of suspension tuning experience. Truth be told, however, I am seeing suspension tuning mistakes in cars across the board these days as manufacturers deal with giant rims and low profile tires. Still, even BMW offers a standard suspension, sport suspension and adaptive suspension for its 3 series...

 

[22522]

Can you provide links to the videos that you believe exhibit this behavior?

I like the car and think it is great. Don't want to encourage criticism by pointing to a flaw. There are some instrumented cars so they are looking at it. The paths are likely good. The shocks look underdamped. Just want them to throw money at suspension/shock talent. Ohlins Bilstein.

Elon knows cost matters.
Knows ride quality matters.
But he is frugal.

At the end you have to spend money to fix any weak links in the chain that were misbudgeted or too hard. Else the car fails.

The tires matter: Now they are Michelin and Continental.

The trunk lid looks like a 35 mph wind gust will bend it (stiffness goes as the thickness cubed). They need to get some thickness leverage supporting the kite. They can recall and replace that part if they don't recognize fragility soon enough.

Shocks are expensive to replace. Honda swept it under the rug with the 2013 Accord. (No recall, but a part change). Lost a customer for life. Don't want Tesla to lie to themselves until it is too late. Instrumentation says they are looking.

(GM is good at suspension, by the way. )